Clarke jibe was music to the ears of Hearts’ rock Souttar

SOMETIMES, the most meaningful compliments are delivered without intention. When Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke spoke of Hearts having ‘three big lumps’ defending their goal in a recent win at Rugby Park, he wasn’t trying to sweet talk the opposition. Having spent the formative years of his career surrounded by doubts over whether he had the necessary physicality or aggression to be a toplevel centre-back, the words came as music to John Souttar’s ears.

‘I’d have bitten your hand off for being called that when I was younger,’ smiles the 22-year-old. ‘It was a back-handed compliment and no offence was taken.’

For manager Craig Levein, Scottish football’s chief protagonist when it comes to lobbing verbal grenades, the barb was just as easily absorbed.

‘I could see John thinking that was brilliant!’ remarks the Tynecastle boss. ‘Now if I can just get someone to say Christophe Berra is like Franz Beckenbauer…’

All this good cheer is a sign that Hearts are restored to a good place after a rocky spell pre-Christmas in which a spate of injuries contributed to a poor run of form that saw the team slip down the Premiership table.

Hurt while playing for Scotland in Israel, Souttar (left) was one of those who had an extended spell out of the team but — with he, Berra and forward Steven Naismith restored to the fray — the team’s personality has been reawakened in 2019.

‘The winter break was ideal for me,’ added Souttar. ‘I was able to work through when the boys were off and then do a mini pre-season.

‘A few of us have come back at the same time — we’ve won a few games and are not conceding many goals, so everyone is feeling good again.

‘When you take five starting players out of the team, that is going to hurt everyone. We’re not quite back to the form we were in at the start of the season but we’re getting there.’

The return of Souttar and Berra to central defence has been an obvious boon, but Levein has also had to cope with the end of Jimmy Dunne’s loan spell from Burnley, recruiting that third ‘lump’ in the shape of Conor Shaughnessy.

Himself a former centre-back of some repute, Levein signed Souttar during his spell as the club’s director of football precisely because he believed he could help mould him into a top-level centre-back.

And he admits it’s been important to place experienced practitioners alongside him.

‘The biggest thing is that John is maturing, not just in a physical sense but a mental sense too. He has used the pillars around him — Aaron Hughes and Christophe in particular — to soak up knowledge.

‘He’s worked really hard on his physique, been more diligent than he was before with his gym work and ensuring his achilles or hip injuries don’t flare up again. There is work to be done daily to keep himself strong in those areas.’